MAHARANA PRATAP, THE ONLY RAJPUT WHO FOUGHT THE MOGHOLS AND BEAT THEM

About the controversy of Union home minister Rajnath Singh endorsing the Rajasthan government’s move to introduce Maharana Pratap as someone greater than Akbar in the state’s school curriculum.
Maharana Pratap’s (1572-1597) name has been immortalized far beyond the confines of Udaipur, Mewar, in books and poems written in such diverse languages as Sanskrit, Rajasthani, Hindi and Gujarati, as well as English. As the first freedom
fighter in the annals of India, he was the precursor and inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi himself. To the people at large, he is known forever as “the Light and Life of the Hindu Community.”
Maharana Pratap (1572-1597) was the only Rajput who not only fought the Mughals, but actually defeated them (against Akbar’s army, battle of Haldigati, on June 18, 1576). Like Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or the Rani of Jhansi, Maharana Pratap’s brilliant and daring exploits transcend caste and ethnic barriers and his example remains a beacon of light and hope for all ages. It is sad that in contemporary
Indian History books, Maharana Pratap is not given the pride of place it deserves. His outstanding courage, his respect of Human Rights, even towards the captured wives of his enemies, his good & uncorrupt administration, his giving prime
importance to farmers, his encouragement of arts, and his protecting the great and sacred land of India, should be emulated today.

Maharana Pratap was great in peace as equally in war. As a torch bearer of liberty, he will continue to inspire millions of people in this land for all times to come.
Plays and poems were written to celebrate Pratap’s glory, and countless thousands of children have been named after him in the course of the ensuing four centuries. The famous vows he made during the period of his greatest trial, when
Kumbhalgarh, Chittor, and the incipient Udaipur were all occupied by Moghul forces and he was being hunted from one valley to the next, have been repeated in each generation. They are, that no Maharana would ever offer obeisance to Delhi as long as India remained under foreign yolk, nor even deign to be summoned to Delhi lest such be interpreted as submission; and that, in recognition of fortune’s whimsical habits, every Maharana would eat off a plate of leaves and sleep on a bed of grass, as he had done in the forest. Even today, the head of the family will place leaves
beneath his plate and grass under his bed on certain days of the year in token respect to the vow of Pratap and the humility of his example.

The rulers of Mewar have been for fourteen centuries the humble guardians of a trust vested in them in perpetuity. Today, Arvind Singh Mewar, who became the 76th Custodian of The House of Mewar in 1984, has taken-up this mantle and his carrying his duties and responsibilities towards the people of Udaipur. In his words: “The legendary Maharana Pratap is the embodiment of courage, self-respect, patriotism and righteousness. As 54th Custodian of The House of Mewar, the legendary nationalist, Maharana Pratap, is one of India’s most beloved heroes. In refusing to accept foreign suzerainty Maharana Pratap showcased, during the defining battle of Haldighati, that great valour exhibited by committed secular people of Mewar could prevail over a much larger combinedexternal army. Maharana Pratap stood for self-reliance, asceticism and sacrifice”.

Maharana Pratap will always be remembered in the annals of history as the very first freedom fighter who struggled for the independence of his realm and the preservation of its principles. As an “elemental spirit of India” he kept fighting till the end for his motherland he believed in; for his people and for his honour. Let his sacrifice, as those of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj & the Rani of Jhansi, be an example to modern India politicians.

This is why Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT), which I started, has A PERMANENT EXHIBITION ON MAHARANA PRATAP IN the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History in Pune, which shows Indian History as it HAPPENED, not as it has been written. One of our pantings shows how Akbar murdered 30.000 Hindus, men, women and children in Chitoorgarh.

Please tell your friends in Pune and Mumbai to come and visit this Museum, it’s 12 minutes from the Pune airport, past the Air Force base, past Lohegaon village, 300 metres on the right after the Marathwada College of Engineering.

Maharana Pratap and his predecessors had never defeated Moghols. In fact, he had been hiding himself from them till his death. Rest, their survival (Rajputs’ Kings) rested on tying nuptial knots of their daughters to Moghols’ kings/emperor.

Maharana Pratap was ruler of Mewar with its capital at Chittor. When he refused to compromise, Mughal army from Delhi travelled to Mewar and attacked Mewar. In the battle of Haldighati in 1576, Mewar army was defeated and Rana Pratap spent rest of his life in jungles regrouping and fighting to recover Mewar till his death in 1596.
Rana Pratap was a brave, inspirational, uncompromising leader who faught against Mughals even when his chances of victory were less. He as well as any subsequent Rana of Mewar never submitted before Mughal empire even when Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer rulers, other three equally important rulers of Rajasthan, compromised with the Mughals and became top rank holders in the Mughal durbar hierarchy.

However, the fact remains that Rana Pratap was fighting to regain Mewar, a less than one fourth area of the state of Rajasthan. Neither he nor his successors ever attempted to win freedom even for Rajasthan, leave alone any other part of India. Delhi or Agra, power centres during Mughal period, were never part of his plans.
Therefore how can he be imagined as a freedom fighter for the country we know today?

The Fall of Constantinople. See how Islam is the same since centuries and are no different from ISIS today.
“…The Fateful Day

In the city everyone realized that the fateful moment had come. In the city, while the bells of the churches rang mournfully, citizens and soldiers joined a long procession behind the holy relics brought out of the churches. Singing hymns, men, women, children, soldiers, civilians, clergy, monks and nuns, knowing that they were going to die shortly, made peace with themselves, with God and with eternity.

When the procession ended the Emperor met with his commanders and the notables of the city. In a philosophical speech he told his subjects that the end of their time had come. In essence he told them that Man had to be ready to face death when he had to fight for his faith, for his country, for his family or for his sovereign. All four reasons were now present. Furthermore, his subjects, who were the descendants of Greeks and Romans, had to emulate their great ancestors. They had to fight and sacrifice themselves without fear. They had lived in a great city and they were now going to die defending it. As for himself, he was going to die fighting for his faith, for his city and for his people… He thanked all present for their contribution to the defense of the city and asked them to forgive him, if he had ever treated them without kindness.

Meanwhile the great church of Saint Sophia was crowded. Thousands of people were moving towards the church. Inside, Orthodox and Catholic priests were holding mass. People were singing hymns, others were openly crying, others were asking each other for forgiveness. Those who were not serving on the ramparts also went to the church, among them was seen, for a brief moment, the Emperor. People confessed and took communion. Then those who were going to fight rode or walked back to the ramparts.

From the great church the Emperor rode to the Palace at Blachernae. There he asked his household to forgive him. He bade the emotionally shattered men and women farewell, left his Palace and rode away, into the night, for a last inspection of the defense positions. Then he took his battle position.

The excesses which followed, during the early hours of the Ottoman victory, are described in detail by eyewitnesses… Bands of soldiers began now looting. Doors were broken, private homes were looted, their tenants were massacred. Shops in the city markets were looted. Monasteries and Convents were broken in. Their tenants were killed, nuns were raped, many, to avoid dishonor, killed themselves. Killing, raping, looting, burning, enslaving, went on and on… The troops had to satisfy themselves.

The great doors of Saint Sophia were forced open, and crowds of angry soldiers came in and fell upon the unfortunate worshippers. Pillaging and killing in the holy place went on for hours. Similar was the fate of worshippers in most churches in the city. Everything that could be taken from the splendid buildings was taken by the new masters of the Imperial capital. Icons were destroyed, precious manuscripts were lost forever. Thousands of civilians were enslaved, soldiers fought over young boys and young women. Death and enslavement did not distinguish among social classes. Nobles and peasants were treated with equal ruthlessness.

The Sultan entered the city in the afternoon of the first day of occupation. Constantinople was finally his and he intended to make it the capital of his mighty Empire. He toured the ruined city. He visited Saint Sophia which he ordered to be turned into a mosque. What he saw was desolation, destruction, death in the streets, ruins, desecrated churches…”

by Dionysios Hatzopoulos

Professor of Classical and Byzantine Studies, and Chairman of Hellenic Studies Center at Dawson College, Montreal, and Lecturer at the Department of History at Universite de Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

JAY HIND JAY MEWAD MAHARANA PRATAP KI JAY . THE LIFE OF MAHARANA IS VERY HARD AND STRUGGLED DUE TO AKBAR BUT APART FROM THAT HE FOUGHT WITH AKBAR FOR SO MANY YEARS .AKBAR IS CAVERD MEANS NO GUTS TO FIGHT WITH MAHARANA ON FACE TO FACE .SALA KAYAR KI JAT BHADWA AKBAR KO HARAYA AUR PURA UDAIPUR JITA AUR AKBAR KO HARAYA.